James Rhee

James Rhee is Managing Partner at SparkLabs Group and CEO of Spark I Acquisition Corporation, our SPAC initiative. He was previously the co-Founder and President of Aero K Holdings and Aero K Airlines, a startup in the aviation industry that seeks to leverage technology and global best practices for low-cost carriers. Aero K had the largest initial capital raise of any independent startup in Korean history.

Prior to Aero K, he was CEO of AirAsia for North Asia where he was responsible for expanding their business into Japan, Korea, China and the Philippines. Prior to AirAsia, he was a Senior Adviser at Octave Private Equity Group where he led the development of an acquisition strategy for a $1 billion global business in the tech industry, and where he led the capital raise for establishing AirAsia Japan.

Prior to Octave, he was a Vice President and GM of TE Connectivity, a world leader in connectivity and sensors, where he led the Global PC Business and managed the evolving product line as PCs were rapidly transitioning to increased mobility requiring higher speed connectivity. Prior to TE Connectivity, he was an Executive Officer at Dell where he led several businesses, including APJ Enterprise Marketing and the APJ PC Business.

Prior to Dell he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company where he focused on M&A and the Financial and Telecommunication sectors. He began his career as a Research Officer at the International Monetary Fund.

James received his MBA (Beta Gamma Sigma) from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and attended Vanderbilt University and the University of Minnesota where he received his B.S. in Economics.